Maui, Day 2

Our second day in Maui was probably my favorite, so this blog will be lengthy. We woke up early (not a problem) and drove to the harbor to catch a boat out to Molokini island. It's a half-sunken crater, perfect for snorkeling and diving.

 

We went with Trilogy Tours, which came highly recommended, and it was awesome. The crew was super friendly and funny. The food (breakfast, snack, lunch) was all delicious! And best of all, it was the best snorkeling I've ever done!!

It was a one hour boat ride out to the crater, and I liked how it wasn't too fast or bumpy. Here's the view of west Maui as we left. See those windmills and golden hills? It looks just like California!

Dave chose to do the SNUBA upgrade. It's like SCUBA diving but you're attached to an oxygen tube. These blue things hold your oxygen and float on the water above you. He had to do a little training on the way there.

And here is Molikini. It's pretty small - most of the crater is below water. Obviously, it's a very popular spot. See all those boats?

Here he is, all hooked up and weighted down.

 

I wish I had the GoPro with me, because I saw TONS of amazing fish. The water was crystal clear. Maybe next time I'll take my own underwater camera.

Dave didn't see quite as many fish because he was a lot deeper and the group spent some time getting used to it. He thought it was very easy, though, and he loved it.

 

 

He's totally hooked now, and he wants to get SCUBA certified.

 

Then the boat took us over to a place on South Maui called Turtle Town. I'm not sure if that's an official name, but they call it that because there are lots of underwater lava tubes where the turtles hang out for protection. But they have to go to the surface occasionally for oxygen, so you're guaranteed to see them.

 

Dave did the SNUBA upgrade again. He liked it even better because fewer people did it. He got to go deeper and longer because he didn't have to share the oxygen tank. I went snorkeling again and loved it. I just love how graceful and relaxed the turtles are. Of course I kept thinking of Finding Nemo. 

 

After lunch (delicious chicken, rice, salad, rolls), we headed back. But before we got to the harbor, they cut the engine and put up the sail. We sailed along for awhile, and it was very peaceful and relaxing. I was in no hurry for it to end.

 But we had to get back for the luau!

We went to the Old Lahaina Luau, which is supposed to be the best. This was outside, while we were waiting to go in. It was smaller than the one we went to on Kauai, but we liked it better.

This guy blew the shell horn for us to go in.

Everyone went around taking each other's pictures.

 We love these trees. They had a bunch of demonstrations all around before it started.

It was right on the beach, which was cool.

 Tiki torches all around.

 

They had an open bar the whole time, which is frustrating because that means we had to pay for everyone else's alcohol. But we did like the fancy virgin drinks - our favorite was the Lava Flow. We really liked how our table had a server who brought us our drinks the whole time. She was awesome.

What a beautiful backdrop! They had a few introductory dances, and then we got our food at the buffet (pronounced BOO-fay).

Luau food is the BEST! The kalua pork was amazing. I got way too much, as you can see, and I couldn't finish it all. I just had to try everything, and sure enough, I still don't like poi (that light purple/grey sauce).

 

Good job, everyone! I was disappointed they didn't have any fire dancing, but other than that, it was great!